Indoor arena for Copenhagen

A new 15,000-spectator indoor arena is to be built in Copenhagen, Denmark, with the total development cost estimated to be DKK1 billion (€134.4 million).

The City of Copenhagen and Realdania, a Danish philanthropic investment foundation, have approved investment of DKK650 million (€87.4 million), and the balance is expected to come from commercial funding.

Sports and venue specialists from global construction consultant Davis Langdon, part of technical and management services group AECOM, led the procurement process for an international operator who will lease the facility for 25 years, with AEG and Live Nation now in the final phase of tendering.

Davis Langdon said the funding strategy and procurement route developed by the team had shown that arenas could be delivered where cities once believed they might not be financially achievable. It said that unlike many other major arenas, the scheme did not place any future burden on the municipality to subsidise the arena during its operation.

Now that funding is confirmed, the process to select a design team and finalise the operator lease will begin. Construction is planned for completion in 2015 with the first events being held at the arena before the end of that year. It is expected that the arena will host a wide range of events including concerts, family shows and sports.